Avalon Day 3 – Main – Danube Canal to Nuremberg

Nuremberg was our destination on Day 3 of our Avalon Waterways Highlights to Germany cruise.  We spent the morning sailing along the Main-Danube Canal while passengers enjoyed a leisurely breakfast.

After breakfast I relaxed in my room and observed the countryside while waiting for the Cruise Director to announce our approach to the Continental Divide.

Just beyond the Continental Divide an expert on the Main-Danube Canal boarded to explain the history and engineering of the Canal and its many locks. We viewed a video presentation in the Panorama Lounge before going topside to observe our passage through one of the canal’s deepest locks, 80 feet.

Passage through the lock completed, it was time for lunch. The chef had created a buffet of traditional Bavarian foods. The selections included sausages, dumplings, spaetzle, schnitzel, sauerkraut and an apple ring for dessert.

After lunch we made a technical stop in Roth, Germany where passengers disembarked to board one of four coaches to Nuremberg. There were two included tours to choose from in Nuremberg. One tour featured historic sites related to the Nazi Trials and Rallies and the other tour featured a City Tour of Nuremberg. I chose to join the City Tour.

The ship sailed for Nuremberg while we went by coach. There are many locks on this stretch of the Main-Danube Canal. Transporting the passengers by bus rather than have them wait on the ship as it passed through the locks meant we would have more time for our Nuremberg tours.

As we approached Nuremberg our knowledgeable local tour guide gave us an overview of Nuremberg history. It is the only medieval city with the entire city wall still surrounding it. Originally there were both an outer and inner city wall with a dry moat between.  During World War II more than 70% of the city was destroyed.

After a coach tour outside the city walls our tour guide gave us an historic walking tour of Nuremberg Castle.

The tour guide gave us an orientation of the main sites in the old city and then allowed us an hour to explore on our own.  Our starting point was the Market Square anchored by the Church of our Lady.

The large shopping district of the newer city is across a bridge beyond the old city walls. Within the city walls are many examples of the unique architecture of this city.

Due to waiting time at the locks, our departure from Nuremberg was delayed by more than an hour. The coaches were scheduled to take us from the city to the ship’s dock just outside of Nuremberg. Sabine, our always thoughtful and creative Cruise Director, suggested we spend about 15 additional minutes site seeing. She then made arrangements for us to have a happy hour in Nuremberg, courtesy of Avalon Waterways.

Two beer gardens, near where we were waiting with our coaches for a call from the Captain to say that the ship had cleared all locks, were instructed to serve drinks to any Avalon passengers and give the bill to Sabine! What could have been a stressful situation quickly turned into an opportunity to make new friends.

With word that the ship was on its way to port and would meet us in 15 minutes, we boarded the coaches and arrived at the Artistry II with just enough time to freshen up and enjoy our delayed dinner.

Jerry, our talented on board musician, entertained in the lounge after dinner. The usual late night snack was served at 10:30pm. Then it was time to go to our cabins and read up on our next day’s scheduled activities in Bamberg, Germany.